An input method is a coding method used to enter various symbols into a computer or other devices (such as a mobile phone). Common input methods include Sogou input method, Microsoft input method and so on.
Traditional emoji input is generally implemented in several situations. First, a platform itself has an emoji input module. For example, messaging tools such as QQ are embedded with an emoji input module that includes a default emoji set for input, allows a third party emoji package to be installed, and allows a user to customize a picture resource as an emoji. When entering an emoji, the user clicks a button for emoji input, and select one emoji to be entered. However, this situation completely excludes the input method; the user needs to click the specific button for emoji input, flip through pages to search and select an emoji that he/she needs and likes to complete the input process.
Second, an input method comes with simple emoticons. When a user enters corresponding characters, for example (“haha” corresponding to an emoticon “O (∩_∩) O˜”), the emoticon is presented in the form of a candidate option for user selection. However, candidate emojis in this situation are simple, and cannot provide users with rich and colorful emoji inputs.
Third, an input method provides loaded third-party emoji packages, and provides users with an entrance for emoji input. When a user wants to enter an emoji, the user needs to click the entrance to access the emoji input of the application, and then in a large number of emoji resources, the user may flip through pages to search and select an emoji that he/she needs and likes to complete the input process.
Using a form of a button interface embedded in an application to provide emoji input for users, such method has many problems.
1. User chat behavior happens in instant messaging, which is highly time-sensitive. Thus, the timeliness of emoji input is very important. If a user likes and installs emoji libraries of a variety of themes (including Ali the Fox, YOYO monkey, Rilakkuma, Lengtoo, etc.), and each emoji library contains hundreds of emoticons or pictures (such as smile, laugh out loud, snicker, wiping tears, crying loudly, etc.). Accordingly, in a limited time, the time consumed on searching through a large number of emoji libraries one by one to find the right emoji, can become the bottleneck of enhancing communication effects by efficiently using various emojis.
2. Because operating cost of a user using an emoji is considered, emoji package producers may streamline the emoji contents as appropriate, which also, to some extent, restricted the development and extensive use of chat emoji.
3. Most chat tools only provide default emojis. The default emojis are relatively monotonous, while chatting emoji resources of richer and more diverse themes can effectively improve favorability when chatting with friends. However, in order to use these emojis, the user needs to go through a lot of online operation steps: obtaining information about emoji packages from various sources, downloading emoji packages to local device, and sometimes manually loading the emoji packages so that the emoji packages can be used normally. For users who are unfamiliar with these operations or do not have enough patience, the amount of time costed to successfully acquire, from network resources, and install the suitable emoji packages may cause them to choose to give up.
4. For downloaded emoji packages, if the user switches input scenarios like chat platforms, the emoji packages need to be downloaded again or updated, the information about frequently-used emoji collections is also facing the problem of transplantation.
The to-be-entered candidate emoji contents are limited to ready-made third-party emoji packages. If not being specially arranged, many multimedia resources such as photos and GIFs showing dramatic expressions of celebrities and political figures cannot be timely made as candidate emojis, the input content is too simple and monotonous, and cannot quickly and accurately meet current input needs of users, which reduces user input efficiency.